First start already at the Farmers, Vijay Singh making a comeback, Charley Hull soon on YouTube. The Back Nine.
As expected, Brooks Koepka has withdrawn from the LIV Golf League for the 2026 season starting February 7 in Riyadh; the five-time major winner will stay connected to the competing circuit but needs more family time. This was a friendly agreement, according to LIV CEO Scott McNeil. Koepka is a competitor who gets motivated and energized only through high-level sporting contests, which was limited at LIV. He joined LIV in 2022 mainly because of injury concerns threatening his career and to secure a good retirement fund. Therefore, his waiver of the last contractually required season is not surprising, though questions remain about buyouts or repayments. Koepka, 35, remains the owner of his LIV team Smash GC, which has made Talor Gooch the new captain.
Speculation abounds about which fairways Koepka will appear on next—immediately eligible for the DP World Tour, possibly with a penalty payment, or on the PGA Tour where he must serve a one-year suspension since his last LIV event, following the significant softening of the lifetime ban imposed by former Commissioner Jay Monahan. It makes little sense to be spiteful when every returning LIV player strengthens the well-established PGA Tour. According to ESPN journalist Mark Schlabach, Koepka formally applied last Friday to reactivate his PGA Tour membership, which had not been renewed after 2022, aiming for readmission.